Newtown, Conn. -- Talk about Sandy Hook Elementary School is turning from last month's massacre to the future, with differing opinions on whether students and staff should ever return to the building where a gunman killed 20 first-graders and six educators.
Some Newtown residents say the school should be demolished and a memorial built on the property in honor of those killed Dec. 14. Others believe the school should be renovated and the areas where the killings occurred removed - similar to what happened at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., after the 1999 mass shooting.
A public meeting on the building's future drew about 200 people to Newtown High School on Sunday, with another meeting set for Friday. Town officials also are planning private meetings with the victims' families to solicit their input.
For now, the students have been moved to a school building about 7 miles away in a neighboring town.
Many spoke Sunday in favor of keeping Sand Hook.
"I have two children who had everything taken from them," said Audrey Bart, whose kids were not injured in the shooting. "The Sandy Hook Elementary School is their school. It is not the world's school. It is not Newtown's school. We cannot pretend it never happened, but I am not prepared to ask my children to run and hide."
But fellow Sandy Hook parent Stephanie Carson said she could not imagine ever sending her son back to the building.
"I know there are children who were there who want to go back," Carson said. "But the reality is, I've been to the new school where the kids are now, and we have to be so careful just walking through the halls. They are still so scared."
Police said Adam Lanza, 20, killed his mother at the home they shared in Newtown before opening fire with a semiautomatic rifle at the school. He killed himself as police arrived.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario